Cape girls pull away from Smyrna for seventh straight win
In a tale of two halves between two 12-5 teams, the Cape Henlopen girls’ basketball team’s strong finish against Smyrna Feb. 16 allowed the Vikings to overcome the Eagles’ fast start for a 49-35 win.
Cape senior Mya Maull accumulated 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal to contribute to the Vikings' seventh win in a row.
“I didn’t realize it was my final home game until after the game. I’m glad we won,” Maull said.
Trading leads early in the contest, Smyrna climbed out of an early hole to take a 15-13 lead at the end of the first.
“We were up nine and they were up seven, so the swings in the score were pretty drastic,” said Cape coach Pat Woods.
Down seven in the second quarter, Maull and freshman Ally Diehl began to disrupt Smyrna’s red-hot offense.
“We’re very resilient, and all the girls coming off the bench know their job,” Maull said. “They know it’s to come in, play defense and knock down open shots.”
Diehl, who led the team with three blocks, connected on a three a few minutes before the half to make it 24-20 and kick-start a 9-0 run. Cape’s leading scorer with 22, Amalia Fruchtman’s basket gave the Vikings a 26-24 lead heading into the break.
“We played as hard as we could,” Fruchtman said. “Unfortunately, they played hard back because they wanted it just as bad. They got a lead right before halftime, but we fought hard and worked together as a team to get that lead back.”
Cape was able to expand its advantage in the third, but only by two, and claimed a 35-31 lead heading into the final quarter.
Cape’s offense erupted in the fourth fueled by stingy defense and efficient offensive possessions. Leading by 17 at one point, the Vikings cruised to a 49-35 victory to improve to 13-5.
“We’ve got some fast, young girls that can just wear people out, so we wanted to use that to our advantage. I thought this was a good team win,” Woods said.
Closing out the game for the home team, freshman Amara Fruchtman gained valuable minutes running offensive sets alongside her sister Amalia, Maull, Diehl and Hayden Hudson. Amalia led the team with 15 rebounds, but Hudson wasn’t far behind with 14 of her own.
The Vikings close out the season with away trips to Ursuline Academy Monday, Feb. 19, and Polytech Wednesday, Feb. 21.
